More and more women are trying to conceive at later ages and The New York Times has singled out exactly three culprits: Julia Roberts, Halle Berry, and Salma Hayek. These 40+ actresses not only have the gall to claim themselves as “sex symbols” well beyond their 20s but also to have babies and still be regarded as sexy and gorgeous all at the same! This is unacceptable because seeing such gorgeous older women with babies tells other women that their eggs aren’t aging. Right? Not really, no.

The unreality is reinforced by Hollywood, much to the growing dismay of many obstetricians and gynecologists. Not only are stars in their 40s now celebrated as bona fide sex symbols (Julia Roberts, Halle Berry, Salma Hayek, the list goes on), but judging from media coverage, they seem to be reproducing like rabbits.

“All women see is celebrities over 40 getting pregnant,” lamented Shari Brasner, a New York obstetrician and gynecologist.

The piece goes on to collect pitiful quotes from women, slaves to their pilates and diet regimes, who don’t understand that they’re encountering conception problems in their 40s. The article not only depicts older successful career women in a poor, pathetic light — reducing them to vanities about hair and teeth and the tautness of skin — but also suggests that the acknowledgement of older, beautiful actress is a bad epidemic among women.

I suppose under those sentiments, women of 40 should just be seen unglamorous, unsexy, undesirable, and completely barren. That’s perhaps what we really we should think of them, right?